Where will the next destructive tsunami originate?
In the Indian ocean, tsunamigenic earthquakes could occur in any of the possible 3 regions: a) mostly off the coast of Sumatra b) 70-100 km south of the Kutch region of the Arabian Sea and c) the bay of Bengal Figure 4 also shows the epicentres of events greater than Richter magnitude 6.5 (earthquakes that could cause tsunamis) in and around the central and eastern parts of the Indian Ocean as recorded by the National Earthquake Information Centre (NEIC), US Geological Survey since 1973. The 88 earthquakes recorded are mostly concentrated off the shore of Sumatra, Indonesia, along the area called the Sundra trench. Since 1973, there have been 8 tsunamis in the Indian Ocean region. As most tsunamis in the Indian Ocean are earthquake induced, it is possible that the next destructive tsunami that might strike Sri Lanka would also originate off the coast of Sumatra. The potential for future destructive tsunamis from this region is still great, as the December 26th 2004 Aceh earthquake did
